The present invention is directed to a process for the removal of undesired lipophilic contaminations and/or residues, which are contained in beverages or in vegetable preparations.
Organic lipophilic compounds have been used for decades as plant protective products, pest control compounds and pesticides.
Some of these highly active toxic substances have the undesired characteristic that they are degraded after accumulation in lipophilic parts of plants either only insufficiently or are not degraded at all.
It is known, that the plant protective compound pentachloro nitrobenzene is transformed in the degradation products pentachloro aniline, pentachloro anisol and pentachloro benzene.
These degradation products are also toxic.
Said highly active toxic compounds, which are degraded only insufficiently or are not degraded at all, are thus accumulated in the soil, in the water and in the human body or in the bodies of animals, combined with corresponding negative effects.
Thus, the whole food chain, the end of which is the human being, is poisonned.
Due to these reasons the use of certain active compounds, such as DDT and lindan, has been strongly restricted or forbidden.
The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) is only applicable to a restricted extent for the removal of these undesired highly active toxic substances; see for example EP PS 0 382 116 B1.
Contaminated water maybe purified by using active carbon.
This purification process is very expensive and is not selective.
Lipophilic contaminations, especially lipophilic poisons of the above mentioned kind, may be removed with halogenated hydrocarbons, such as methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, or with alkanes containing 5 to 7 carbon atoms, such as petroleum ether, hexane.
But these substances for removing of the lipophilic poisons of said kind are themselves toxic, detrimental to the environment and to some extent highly explosive, whereby their use is combined with high risks.
Various national and international laws and implementing regulations have been promulgated, wherein maximum amounts of poisons are defined.
It if an object of the present invention to provide a process with which these highly active toxic compounds may be removed nearly quantitative and selectively from beverages or vegetable preparations.
This process is also cheap as well as simple and safe during realization.
In this process no toxic and/or easy inflammable agents are used.
This process has no drawbacks for the environment.
With this process the maximum amounts of poisons as defined in national and international laws and implementing regulations shall be at least accomplished and preferably will be significant below these amounts.
The inventive process meets the above mentioned objects.